30.5.05

A Guide to Win the Elections

We can’t deny that in our days: media, money and power can make a winner of any candidate for the parliament. And before I go further, I would like to stress the fact that I do not support any candidate in particular! After all, it is survival of the “most adaptive” (or “fittest” if you wish to stick to the classics) and we have to accept this fact.

Unfortunately in our days, the “most adaptive” is the person who can use the means available to him/her in order to win the elections (or to win any other “prize”) as follows:

Media Factor: We can strongly sense the effect of media, mainly TV stations, in brainwashing the minds of common public. In the age of information, media decides for the public who is worthy and who is unworthy, and they feed their decisions to the most of the unaware public that will passively learn.

Money Factor: Money plays a major role; other than buying the media, money has proven to be an important factor in buying the candidate a “ticket” in some proven (transportation) means such as Berri’s famous Bosta (bus). On the other hand, many people can be bought for the right price.

Power Factor: It is ironic how power begets power. Once the candidate is in a position of power, and he does some “favors” (mafia style) to some people… and foreover he becomes their “godfather”; from that time on, they will only elect him. The story doesn’t end here, it goes further where this man asks his “descendants” to elect that “boss” and to elect his “descendants” just to pay him back!

Who is electing in a right way? Those who can't be bought by money yet they are choosing through educated decisions. In front of all this, I doubt that a good and honest man will get his chance to represent anyone in the parliament!

2 Comments:

You know, I just sort of posted on this issue.I deal with the political favors.However, you seem to tie things together. It's hard to deny these three factors.All the biggest politicians have their own TV stations. People are paid or given comfy escorts to vote.I realize why you don't politically affiliate yourself. From the beginning, it does seem like you are about to recite the Aoun spiel. But you don't.This election was not only about "petrodollars." It was about dollars, regardless of where they came from.

normally, the problems you've described would be somewhat moderated by democracy-- you can have all the money, coverage, and power in the world, but if you don't pull through for your constituents, they won't reelect you. the problem in lebanon is not any flaw within the democratic system, but rather the patron-client relationship that has developed between politicians and voters. you don't have to stick to issues or platforms as long as you help your constituents with the more mundane necessities of daily survival. you and your boys help the voters out with medical care, jobs, expedited drivers licenses, etc., and in return, they'll keep your name on their ballots.

the only way to attack this system is to provide another source for people's needs that isn't affiliated with political parties. decent public services, government efficiency, and legal accountability are all necessary to give people a viable alternative to wasta and patronage. in order to ever have a semi-representative parliament, people's basic needs must be met by the government, so they can afford to hold their MPs responsible for the bigger issues.